The students of the Juneau Icefield Research Program immerse themselves in glaciology, meteorology, and emergency medicine, and dedicate brawn and brains to ongoing research. They discover that even the most incremental scientific progress often requires immense effort and risk, and superhuman patience.

Imagine being the best in your field but operating in a community that is completely uninterested. A five-star vegan chef, say, but in the middle of Nebraska. Then you'd know what it is like to be Bruce Wagner. Wagner is a brilliant comic novelist whose canvas is Hollywood.

Dan Ross, who set the record for most Super Bowl receptions with the Bengals in 1982, has died. He was 49. The former tight end collapsed at his home in Atkinson, N.H., shortly after returning from a jog Tuesday evening, Northeastern's sports information department said. He was taken to Merrimack Valley Hospital in Haverhill, where he died.

This year's Oscars ceremony with films that tackle homophobia, racism and terrorism, to name just a few topics doesn't exactly have fun written all over it. But there's hope. Though much has been said about host Jon Stewart's ability to perk up an audience, it's really the unpredictable moments that can most make Hollywood's night of self-congratulation enjoyable funny, even.

Robby Gordon needed only three stages of the Dakar Rally to move into the top 10. Gordon, a NASCAR Nextel Cup veteran and off-road racing specialist, celebrated his 37th birthday Monday with a fifth-place finish in the 195-mile Nador to Er Rachidia (Morocco) stage and moved into eighth place overall.

ABC morning show Good Morning America hearkened back to its glory years for a 30th anniversary celebration on Thursday, not so coincidentally marking the opening of the crucial November ratings sweeps period.

Innocent Voices, a tale set in 1980s El Salvador, could prove to be this year's Hotel Rwanda. Also playing: Separate Lies, starring Tom WIlkinson, Emily Watson and Rupert Everett and The Squid and the Whale with Anna Paquin, Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney.